Railway car truck



June 14 1932. M, H MAR-NN 1,863,063

RAILWAY CAR TRUCK .Filed Dec, 11. 1928 Patented June 14, 1.932

UNITED` STATES PATENT OFFICE .'M'ARK H. MARTIN, 0F READING', PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO BIRDSBORO STEEL FOUNDRY & MACHINE COMPANY, OF BIRDSBORO, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA RAILWAY CAR TRUCK Application led December 11, 1928. Serial No. 325,268.

My invention relates to railway car trucks and its general object is to provide a. railway car truck of novel character the side frames of which are constructed and arranged to accommodate a large .number of springs.

It also is an object of my invention to provide a novel construction of means including the side frames of a car truck, the spring seats thereof being arranged to accommodate large numbers of springs and at the same time to provide for such an arrangement ofthe said springs as will result in distributing the load imposed on the said side frames through said springs in a most desirable and efficient manner.

Another object of my invention is to provide a railway car truck of novel character wherein the side frames respectively include spring seat shelves located in a common plane and an intermediate spring seat shelf located in a plane above that of the said'shelves, a novel spring plank being provided the ends of which are adapted to engage the said spring plank seats in such manner as to tend to hold and retain the side frames of the car truck yin parallel relation to each other.

It also is an object ofmy invention to provide a spring cap for railway car trucks of novel character which includes spring-engagling surfaces located-in a common plane and an intermediate spring-engaging surface l0- cated in a plane above that of the said surfaces, the top side of the said cap being provided with means for engaging the adjoining portion of a bolster which is supported thereon for retaining the said bolster and spring cap in engagement with each other.

A further object oit' my invention is to provide means of novel character whereby shimming between the spring caps and bolsters of railway car trucks may be accomplished in a simple and'eflicient manner.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be pointed out in the detailed description thereof which follows or will become apparent from such description.

In order that the invention may be readily understood and its manifold practical advantages appreciated referenceshould be had to/the accompanying drawing, in Awhich 1 have illustrated certain embodiments thereof. However, it is to be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms of construction than those which are' shown in the drawing and that various changes may 55 be made in the details of construction without departing from the principle of the invention.'V

In the said drawing,-

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of the 60 central portion of one side of a railway car truck embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in central vertical transverse section of a side frame and of the end portions of a spring plank and truck bolster supported thereon Fig. 3 is a view in top plan of an outer end portion of the sprin plank the outer end of which is shown in Fig. 1, the arrangement of the seats for the springs being indicated; -70

Fig. 4 is a view in end elevation of the spring plank shown in Figs. 1 and 3;

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the spring cap embodied in the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Y 75 Fig. 6 is a view in side edge elevation of the spring cap shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 7 is a view on reduced scale in horizontal sectional top plan taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 1, the spring plank and springs being omitted; and

Fig. 8 is a view in bottom plan on reduced scale of an end portion of the truck bolster embodied in the construction shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates a side frame comprising a compression member 2, tension member 3. and bolster columns 4. A spring plank seat is formed preferably integrally with the tension member and comprises shelves 5 which extend laterally from the sides of the said member and are disposed in a common plane, and an intermediate shelf 6 located in a plane above but parallel to that of the shlvesaize-'lhe shelf 6 extends from 95 the base of one column to that of the other, and the adjoining ends of the said shelf and the columns are connected by curved portions as indicated at 6a in Fig. 1. The shape of the said shelves and of the tension member B in cross section is shown at the bottoni of Fig. 2 of the. drawing.

n the construction shown in the drawing, the spring assemblage consists of an intermediate group of three springs 8. which are supported by the shelf.6, and inner and outter pairsl of springs 9, each pair belng supported by one of t'he shelves 5, making a total of seven springs. The said springs preferably are of equal length.

As a result of the arrangement of the three intermediate springs upon the longitudinal center line of the longer shelf 6 and the disi position of the two pairs of springs on the shorter shelves 5, the loads which are 1mposed upon the said shelves are in proportion to their respective strengths, and a. novel load distribution is thereby obtained.

A greater or sma ler number of springs may be employed if desired and the capacity of the spring seat varied accordingly, although I prefer the construction as shown.

The. opposite end portions of a spring plank 9 'are seated upon the spring plank seats provided upon the upper sides of tension members 3 of the side frames. An end portion of the spring plank 9 is shown at 10, and as illustrated, it is shaped to conform to the spring plank seat comprising the shelves and 6 previously referred to. Bottom spring plates 11 overlie and conform in shape to the portions of the spring plank which rest upon the spring plank seats. One of said bottom spring plates is shown in section in Fig. 2. Each of the shelves 5 is provided with bosses, as indicated in dotted lines at 12, which bosses extend through openings 12a in the portions of the spring plank overlying and seated against the said shelves. These bosses co-operate with the raised shelf portion 6 in retaining the spring plank in position upon the spring plank seat. Bosses 13 also are provided on the inner, outer, and intermediate portions of the bottom spring plates 11 for preventing thesprings supported thereon from being moved out of position, as will be understood. Gussets 14 located in the angle between the under sides of the shelves 5 and the tension member 3 are provided for strengthening the structure. Gussets 14a also are connected to the outer ends of the shelves 5 and extend upwardly from the points of connection therewith, indicated at A, diminishing in thickness and merging with the sides ofthe tension member of the side frame. The location of the said guests 14a is such that the top sides thereof are disposed in planes which are tangent to the inner surfaces of the curved portions 6a, as indicated at B. The gussets 14a greatly strengthen the shelves 5 and their presence permits the said shelves to be made' comparatively short.l The said gussets 14a also resist forces at the critical points B, greatly strengthening the side frame at those points.

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To further strengthen the spring seat, webs 15 are provided. These Webs extend between the inner sides of the vtension member and preferably are located in planes including the axe-s of the springs 8.

As indicated already, the opposite side of the car truck embodies a side frame and spring structurel identical with that which is shown in the drawing. It will be apparent that the engagement of the opposite ends of the spring plank with the spring plank seats of the side frames holds the lower sides of the said frames fixed distances from each other and tends to retain the side frames in parallel relation to each other. 4

T he. spring plank 9 is provided with upwardly extending flanges 17 the curved portions 18 of which near one end thereof, as shown in Fig. 3, hug adjoining springs 8. Resting upon the springs is a spring cap 20 comprising inner and outer pan-like portions 21. the under sides of the bottoms of which engage the springs 9, and an intermediate portion 22 which engages the springs 8. The bottom sides of the inner, outer. and intermediate portions of the said spring cap are provided with-bosses 23 which operate to prevent the-springs and the said cap from becoming disengaged from each other. The bottom side of the intermediate portion 22 is located the same distance above the bottom sides of the portions 21 as the top side of section 6 is located above the top sides of the shelves 5. Partitions 24 are provided across the interiors of sections 21 to strengthen the. spring cap. Preferably three partitions are provided in each section, two of which are located in planes including the axes of the springs 9, as shown in Fig.'5.

An outer end of a bolster26 is supported by the spring cap, and if desirable, or necessarjT a wooden or metal shim 27 is interposed between the said bolster and spring cap. The shim is retained in position b v spurs or projections 28 formed on the section 22 and located centrally o f the opposite end portions thereof, which projections extend into holes 28a in the said shim. In the bottom of the bolster, holes 29 also are provided in alinement with the spurs or projections 28.

In the event that the shim 27 is omitted or removed, the said spurs or projections 28 will extend into the openings 29 in the bolster,

`permitting the top and bottom surfaces of the spring cap andbolster to contact with each other and serving to retain the said spring cap in engage-ment with the said bolster.

The bolster 26 is of hollow construction, the bottom thereof being longer than t-he top, and the outer end portions of the bottom being of general trapezoidal shape, as shown in Fig. 8. Each of the ends of the bolster is partially closed by a strengthening member 5 30, a central oval portion of which is cut away as shown at 31. The ends of the bolster' are further,strengthened interiorly by webs such as indicated at 32, which webs are located in vertical longitudinal planes and extend from the top to the bottom of the said bolster'. Each of the webs '32 is relatively narrow at its top but increases in length from top to bottom, as is clearly shown in the said Fig. Q. The narrow outer end portions of t-he webs 32 are connected to the lniddles of the narrow portions of the strengthening members 30, as indicated at 33.

The bolster will be guided in its vertical movements by the lugs 34 thereon which are located on opposite sides of the bolster columns, as shown.

It will be seen that I have provided a novel and improved construction of means whereby the side frames of a railway car truck are adapted to carry a large number of springs, and in which the arrangement of the said springs is such that the forces imposed thereon are transmitted to the said side frames in a most desirable and practical manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a railway car truck, a side frame for said truck adapted to support a plurality of springs, and a cap for said springs, said cap having inner and outer spring-engaging surfaces located in a common plane, and an intermediate spring-engaging surface located in a plane above that of the said surfaces.

2. In a railway car truck, a side frame for said truck adapted to support a plurality of springs, anda cap for said springs, said cap comprising inner and outer springengaging surfaces located in a common plane either of which is adapted to accommodate a plurality of springs, spring-engaging surface located in a plane ove that in which the said surfaces are located and adapted'to accommodate a larger number of springs than either of said surfaces.

3. In a railway car truck, a side frame for said truck adapted to support a plurality of springs, a cap for said springs said cap comprising inner and outer pan-like portions and an intermediate portion, the bottoms of the said pan-like portions being located `in a common plane which plane is below that of the said intermediate portion, the said first named portions having ribs extending across the interiors thereof, the Eop parts of the said first named portions, :he said ribs and the said intermediate por- ;ion being located in a common plane, a bol- ;ter supported by said cap, and a plurality if projections on said cap for retaining the atter in position.

In a railway car truck, a side frame and an intermediate for the said truck said frame including a tension member of hollow construct-ion at its middle portion and having a spring plank seat formed thereon, which seat comprises inner and outer shelves located in a common plane, gussets extending between the bottom sides of the said shelves and the adjoining sides of the said tension member, the said seat also comprising an intermediate shelf Alocated in a plane above that of the said shelves and forming a portion of the top of the said tension member. and transverse webs formed on the interior of the said tension member and connected to the inner side of the said intermediate portion.

5. In a railway ear truck, a bottom spring plate having laterally extending portions located in a common plane, and an intermediate portion located in aplane above that of the said portions, and bosses formed on the said laterally extending and intermediate portions for retaining in position springs which are supported upon the said plate.

6. A side frame for a railway car truck comprising' a tension member, compression member, and columns extending therebetween, said tension member being formed as a box section with a portion of the upper web thereof offset above the section to form an intermediate shelf extending between said columns and having a width less than said section, shelves extending laterally from the sides of said member in a plane common with the portions of said web below said intermediate shelf, said last named web portions extending upwardly towards the ends of said frame from points between and merging into said columns, and terminating a pre etermined distance beyond the webs of said eolumns.

7. A side frame for a railway car truck comprising a tension member, compression `member, and columns extending therebetween, said tension member being formed as a box section with a portion of the upper web thereof offset above the section to form an intermediate shelf extending between said columns and having a width less than said section, shelves extending laterally from the v web below said intermediate shelf, said last named web portions extending upwardly towards the ends of said frame from points between and merging into said columns and terminating a predetermined distance beyond the webs of said columns in the form of gusset ribs merging into the inner sides of said frames. l

8. A side lframe for a railway car truck comprising a. tension member, compression member, and. columns extending therebetween, said tension memberl being formed as a box section with a portion of the upper web thereof offset above the section to form an intermediate shelf extending between said columns and having a 4width less than said In testimony that section, shelves extending laterally from the sides of said member in a plane common with the portions of said web below said intermediate shelf, said last named web portions extending upwardly towards the ends of said frame from points lbetween and merging into said columns, and said last named shelves merging into the sides of said tension member. in locations beyond said points.

my invention have hereunto signed my name this 8 day of December, A. D. 1928.

MARK H. MARTIN.-

I claim the foregoing as y 

